When a pudgy, bespectacled seven-year-old, Olive (Abigail Breslin), voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown at an upcoming beauty pageant, her wildly dysfunctional family sets out on an interstate road trip to ensure her a clear shot at realizing her dreams in former music video directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' quirky feature debut, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette. Despite early career success as an outspoken motivational speaker, family patriarch Richard (Kinnear) continues to cling to his "Refuse to Lose" philosophy, much to the chagrin of his increasingly annoyed spouse, Sheryl (Collette). Add into the mix a Nietzsche-reading teenage son (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence until he finds his fate as a fighter pilot; a ******, ******-happy grandfather (Alan Arkin) with a penchant for creative profanity; and a suicidal genius (Carell) and Proust scholar still reeling about losing both his male lover and his MacArthur Foundation genius grant -- and the stage is set for a road trip in which sanity is sure to take the back seat. Jason Buchanan, Rovi -- _entertainment_movies_comedy

When a pudgy, bespectacled seven-year-old, Olive (Abigail Breslin), voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown at an upcoming beauty pageant, her wildly dysfunctional family sets out on an interstate road trip to ensure her a clear shot at realizing her dreams in former music video directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' quirky feature debut, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette. Despite early career success as an outspoken motivational speaker, family patriarch Richard (Kinnear) continues to cling to his Refuse to Lose philosophy, much to the chagrin of his increasingly annoyed spouse, Sheryl (Collette). Add into the mix a Nietzsche-reading teenage son (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence until he finds his fate as a fighter pilot; a horny, heroin-happy grandfather (Alan Arkin) with a penchant for creative profanity; and a suicidal genius (Carell) and Proust scholar still reeling about losing both his male lover and his MacArthur Foundation genius grant -- and the stage is set for a road trip in which sanity is sure to take the back seat. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi (Books - Computers and Internet) -- Entertainment-Movies

When a pudgy bespectacled seven-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin) voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown at an upcoming beauty pageant her wildly dysfunctional family sets out on an interstate road trip to ensure her a clear shot at realizing her dreams in former music video directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' quirky feature debut starring Greg Kinnear Steve Carell and Toni Collette. Despite early career success as an outspoken motivational speaker family patriarch Richard (Kinnear) continues to cling to his 'Refuse to Lose' philosophy much to the chagrin of his increasingly annoyed spouse Sheryl (Collette). Add into the mix a Nietzsche-reading teenage son (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence until he finds his fate as a fighter pilot; a horny heroin-happy grandfather (Alan Arkin) with a penchant for creative profanity; and a suicidal genius (Carell) and Proust scholar still reeling about losing both his male lover and his -- Media > DVDs & Videos

Father Richard (Kinnear) is desperately trying to sell his motivational success program...with no success. Pro-honesty mom Sheryl (Collette) lends support to her eccentric family, including her depressed brother (Carell), fresh out of the hospital after being jilted by his lover. Then there are the younger Hoovers - the seven-year-old, would-be beauty queen Olive (Breslin) and Dwayne (Paul Dano), a Nietzsche-reading teen who has taken a vow of silence. Topping off the family is the foul-mouthed grandfather (Alan Arkin), whose outrageous behavior recently got him evicted from his retirement home. When Olive is invited to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in far-off California, the family piles into their rusted-out VW bus to rally behind her - with riotously funny results. *Artist: CARELL,STEVE *Genre: Comedy *Rating: R *Release Date: 17-FEB-2009 -- Movies Music & Gaming > DVD Movies - Comedy

4 out of 5 stars!   Little Miss Sunshine 2010-09-28

If you are avoiding this film because you think you will see a lame beauty contest for little girls, don't be fooled by the title. While this movie is about a totally dysfunctional family driving about a thousand miles to enter a child in a beauty pageant, the contest serves just as a focus point for the story. The real entertainment lies within the family itself. And what a family it is. Headed by a man who lectures people to find the winner inside of them, we have a father trying to sell a nine-step theory to success. Unfortunately, he practices what he preaches, much to the dismay of his household, consisting of his foul-mouthed, coke-snorting father; his nervous, chain-smoking wife; his gay, out of work, suicidal brother-in-law; his non-talking, self-disciplined son who claims to hate everyone; and his sweet, loving, seven year old daughter, whose only fault is her addiction to beauty pageants. Being the most rational of them all, it's of course, the little girl who is responsible for bringing this clan together. She doesn't have that much difficulty achieving this because in spite of their exterior, there is hope for her retched relatives. Grandpa really loves his family and isn't afraid to tell them at various times in his own way. Mom is a little passive, yet she says the right things at the right time. The uncle is quick to bond with the kids in spite of his own troubles. The big brother is very intelligent and eventually comes around, and Dad somehow manages to get his daughter to the contest on time. While parts of it reminded me of vacation, the plot was surprisingly unpredictable, and the brilliant cast made these eccentric characters real enough to sustain the most far-fetched situations. It had the right combination of elements: enough drama for conflict, enough sentiment to bond the characters, and lots of humor to carry it through.
          -- Maureen R. Tagliaferro Middlesex, NJ United States

---